Janette “Fay” Perham

OXFORD – Janette “Fay” Perham, 94, of Knox and Oxford, Maine, passed away on May 23, 2026, at her home in Oxford. She was born on March 31, 1932, in South Paris, Maine to Frances Ellen Morse Gammon and Wilbur Clayton Gammon. Her common name was changed from Janette to Fay in First Grade when her teacher thought the other Janette’s father, (an FBI agent), was more important than Fay’s father, Wilbur (a Railroad Station Agent), so she had priority in name retention.

Fay attended South Paris High School, graduating in 1950. She was a baton twirling majorette in the Pearl Cook Kilburn Band in Norway. Fay went on to Nurses Training at Central Maine General Hospital in Lewiston, graduating in 1953. Fay met Roscoe “Russ” Perham at Conant’s Barn on Paris Hill. They were engaged in 1951 and married on Dec. 20, 1953.

Fay worked as a Registered Nurse while Russ began college in Orono. They moved from Orono, Maine to Connecticut early in their marriage as they started their family.

The young family moved to the Lebanon, NH area in 1962 after their eldest son, Rocky, finished 1st grade. They purchased and lived in a house in West Lebanon until their custom-made house was completed on Ledge Lane in Lebanon.

Fay was a homemaker until everyone had started school at which point she began working as a visiting nurse, nutritional consultant and meal planner with Rich Plan. Eventually, her training in and love for nursing led her to find work as a School Nurse in Meriden, NH. This schedule allowed her to continue the family’s long-standing ritual of “summer at camp” in Oxford, Maine. Fay, with support from her parents and sister, Jackie, wrangled all four kids (and often a friend or two) at camp from mid-June to mid-August. Russ drove over from New Hampshire for weekends, and Fay was in charge during the week, which prepared her for Grammie Camp decades later.

After retiring in 1989, Russ and Fay moved to live on Whitney Pond in Oxford, where they renovated “camp” into a year-round residence. Russ and Fay were active in square dancing, round dancing, and clogging groups for nearly five decades. Fay enjoyed traveling in their RV and spent 12 winters at the LeLynn RV resort in Polk City, Fla. with Russ and their friends.

Fay loved and supported her family and remained steadfastly and selflessly committed to Russ through his long struggle with Alzheimer’s. She spent the last 14 years in Maine full-time, splitting her time between Knox and Oxford, which was her happy place.

She is survived by three children, Rocky (wife Christine), Penny (husband Jeff), and Ben (wife Jeanette); 11 grandchildren, Kim (Mike), Jenny (Keith), Cheryl (Eric), Fran (Jake), Molly (Taylor), Meredith (David), Joshua (Alli), Jacque (Justin), Max (Caitlin), Thomas (Laura) and Helen; and 13 great grandchildren, Emerson, Colby, Mason, Cameron, Lauren, Aurora, Hazel, Thomas, Lyla, Maisy, Avery, Quinn, Birdie. Fay is also survived by her sister Jackie (husband George) of Scarborough.

She was predeceased by her parents, her sister Honor Gammon Keene, her husband Russ Perham, and son Daniel Gammon Perham.

A memorial service will be held Sunday, June 28, 2026 at 10 a.m. at Oxford Hills Funeral Service, 1037 Main St (Rt 26) Oxford. Online condolences may be shared with her family at http://www.chandlerfunerals.com